India has achieved the milestone of 200 GW of non-fossil fuel power generation

India has achieved a key milestone, approaching 200 GW of installed non-fossil energy, with solar power driving India’s target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

The latest Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data shows that installed non-fossil renewable capacity stood at 199.58 GW at the end of August. The outage includes renewables – small hydro, bioenergy, solar and wind at 152.6 GW, still below the 175 GW target for 2022.

Large hydro projects (over 25 MW) have a capacity of 46.9 GW. Among renewable energy sources, solar energy accounts for 89 GW and wind energy for 47 GW. Nuclear energy, which does not fall into the category of renewable energy sources but is considered a clean energy source, accounts for 8 GW.

The milestone comes after India added a record 16.4 GW of renewable energy in the first seven months of this year (January-July), the highest since 2015, according to data from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

India aims to achieve 500 GW of installed non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, which means the country needs to add 50 GW per year between now and 2030 to reach the 500 GW target

According to the government, a total of 89.13 GW of renewable energy capacity is under construction, while 67.46 GW of capacity is under construction, which as of April 2024 may soon translate into the active construction phase.

The government claims that a tender for a huge renewable energy capacity is underway and the country could witness a record increase in generating capacity.

Rating agency ICRA has forecasted that the share of renewable energy, including hydropower, in the country’s power generation will increase from 21% in fiscal 2024 to 35% by fiscal 2030.

The agency added that achieving the renewable purchase obligation (RPO) target of 43.3% by fiscal year 2030 will require more than doubling current renewable energy generating capacity, which in turn will involve significant investments in energy storage and grid integration solutions, as well as addressing land acquisition and transmission infrastructure challenges, the findings showed.